We blow dry it, we attack it with irons and we flatten it out with straighteners — it’s no wonder our hair can sometimes feel frazzled. If you’ve been leaving your locks unprotected while you style, there’s a good chance you could be damaging them permanently. Lucky there are plenty of ways you can achieve that perfect ‘do without causing harm in the process.
A bad barnet blames its tools
If you’re noticing heat damage in your hair, the first place you’ll want to look is your styling tools. Low-quality straighteners or curlers usually only have one heat setting which can be far too hot for lots of hair types, causing drying and breakage. Make sure your equipment is made of high-quality materials that won’t cause problems, as well as having settings that can be calibrated to your hair type. Sounds expensive? Not necessarily, these ceramic straighteners boast all of the above and won’t cost you an arm, a leg, or a healthy head of hair!
Always use protection
One of the most common mistakes lots of people make is to go straight in to hairstyling without giving their hair anything to shield it from all those high temperatures. If you’re going to be exposing your hair to heat, protect it with a spray or serum designed especially for use with straighteners or curling irons. There are so many thermal protection products on offer that cater to all different hair types, there’s really no excuse not to use them.
Perfect your technique
If you find yourself suddenly noticing lots of split ends, it might not be the heat in your styling tools that’s to blame. Using hair styling equipment incorrectly can cause just as much damage as heat itself as can hair become caught, ripped, pulled and broken. Try to do some research or watch some videos online to help you nail the gentlest and best techniques for styling your hair.
Damage limitation
If the damage is already done, don’t despair. Treat split ends or dry, damaged hair to a restoring deep hair masque like this one from Osmo. Masques are enriched with natural oils, vitamins and moisturising ingredients that will help to restore your hair’s natural lustre, making it look shiny and healthy once more.
